I’ve had an itch to create a Hockney-like photo collage . . . so I went out to the local botanical garden, camera in hand, and took a ton of pictures. All these were merged into a panorama as a precursor to making the choice of which one to create. It’s sort of hard to choose, but eventually I will make that choice. Nonetheless, I did get some photos to share.

Cacti always make me laugh (until I sit on one) because they are such crazy plants – beautiful, eerie, amazing. Having grown up in the woodlands of the midwest and east coast, I still find palms and cacti intriguing. And still alien in my concept of plants. So, the aliens amongst us are here to be seen.

Prickly pear are everywhere in my area of California, dotting hillsides and roadsides. They are really quite beautiful – from a distance – but also a wonderful food source. The pears are sweet when ripe, with a deep red fruit. The paddles are also edible, but a bit bland, and are used in making nopales. To eat a prickly pear requires a prickly pear, a pair of gloves to pick what you want, and a fire or blow torch to remove the thorns, which are long and pointy. I don’t go out harvesting, but I always enjoy photographing these cacti. Oh, and before the pears show up, the flowers are really beautiful.